Joyce Carol Oates biography

Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates Biography

Joyce Carol Oates was
born in Lockport, New York, in 1938 and grew up on the family farm where she developed
a love of literature and writing. She earned a scholarship to Syracuse University
and graduated valedictorian. She then took a masters degree, after which she started
teaching at the University of Detroit where she met her first husband Raymond J
Smith. In the late '60s, they moved to the University of Windsor in Canada, where
they were co-editors of the literary quaterly publication The Ontario Review.
In the late 1970s she took a teaching position at Princeton University where she
is currently the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities.

She
published her first book in 1963, and has published over 40 novels since as well
as many other works including short stories, poetry, plays and nonfiction. She has
won many awards including the National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for
Excellence in Short Fiction, and been nominated for a number of others including
the Pulitzer Prize twice. She has written some of the most enduring fiction of our
time, including the national bestsellers We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde,
which was nominated for the National Book Award. She has been a member of the American
Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

Raymond Smith died in 2008. After
a period of intense grieving, Oates remarried in 2009. She recorded thoughts on
her 47 year marriage to Smith, and his death in her 2011 memoir A Widow's Story.

Collections/Short Stories/Poems
By the North Gate (1963)
Upon the Sweeping Flood: And Other Stories (1966)
Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?: Stories of Young America (1966)
Anonymous Sins: And Other Poems (poems) (1969)
Cupid and Psyche (1970)
Love and Its Derangements: Poems (poems) (1970)
The Wheel of Love (1970)
Wild Saturday: And Other Stories (1970)
Marriages and Infidelities (1972)
The Goddess and Other Women (1974)
The Hungry Ghosts: Seven Allusive Comedies (1974)
The Fabulous Beasts (poems) (1975)
The Poisoned Kiss: And Other Stories from the Portuguese (1975) (with Fernandes)
The Seduction: And Other Stories (1975)
Crossing the Border: Fifteen Tales (1976)
Night-Side: 18 Tales (1977)
All the Good People I've Left Behind (1978)
Women Whose Lives Are Food, Men Whose Lives Are Money: Poems (poems) (1978)
Three Plays (1980)
A Sentimental Education (1981)
Invisible Woman (1982)
Last Days (1984)
The Time Traveler: Poems (poems) (1987)
The Assignation (1988)
Oates in Exile (1990)
Demon: And other tales (1991)
aka Demon
Heat: And Other Stories (1991)
Twelve Plays (1991)
Where Is Here?: Stories (1992)
Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque (1994)
Will You Always Love Me?: And Other Stories (1994)
The Perfectionist: And Other Plays (1995)
The Collector of Hearts: New Tales of the Grotesque (1996)
Tenderness: Poems (poems) (1996)
New Plays (1998)
Where I've Been, And Where I'm Going: Essays, Reviews, and Prose (1999)
Faithless: Tales of Transgression (2001)
Small Avalanches: And Other Stories (2003)
I Am No One You Know: Stories (2004)
The Female of the Species: Tales of Mystery and Suspense (2006)
High Lonesome: New & Selected Stories, 1966-2006 (2006)
The Museum of Dr. Moses: Tales of Mystery and Suspense (2007)
Wild Nights! (2008)
Dear Husband (2009)
Sourland: Stories (2010)
In Rough Country (2010)
Give Me Your Heart: Tales of Mystery and Suspense (2011)
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares (2011)
Black Dahlia & White Rose (2012)
Evil Eye: Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong (2013)
High Crime Area: Tales of Darkness and Dread (2014)
Lovely, Dark, Deep (2014)

This bio was last updated on 01/07/2016. We try to keep BookBrowse's biographies both up to date and accurate, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's a tough task. So, please help us - if the information about a particular author is out of date or inaccurate, and you know of a more complete source, please let us know. Authors: If you wish to make changes to your bio, send your complete biography as you would like it displayed so that we can replace the old with the new.

Interview

A Conversation With Joyce Carol Oates

Niagara Falls truly comes alive in the story; you describe its power and
beauty in exquisite detail and during different seasons. How did your connection
with Niagara Falls contribute to writing the book?
I grew up in the countryside not far from Niagara Falls and we often visited
there. Even in western New York State, a region that is haunting to me, Niagara
Falls was always special.

For those who have never been to Niagara Falls, would you recommend it?
What would you say to encourage people to visit?
This is a difficult question. Of course, the Falls are spectacular. But more
spectacular on the Canadian side of the border. The Canadian Niagara Falls is
Disneyland-commercial; the American side is somewhat shabby and economically
depressed. Only visit in reasonably warm weather.

The reader knows things about Gilbert that Ariah does not, including a
first-hand account of what drove him to commit suicide. How does having this
information enhance the reading of the story?
Many suicides, especially in the past, have surely been as a consequence of
sexual anxiety. The reader understands Gilbert's "secret" to a degree
Gilbert doesn't understand himself, while Ariah can ...

Readalikes

All the books below are recommended as readalikes for Joyce Carol Oates but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose readalikes

Deni Béchard was born in British Columbia to a loving and health-conscious American mother and a French Canadian father with penchant for crime and storytelling. He grew up in the wake of their turbulent lives throughout...
(more)

Ian Caldwell attended Princeton University, where he studied history. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1998. He began writing The Rule of Four with his best friend, Dustin Thomason, after graduation. His second book, The Fifth ... (more)

Books that entertain, engage & enlighten

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends books that we believe to be best in class. Books that will whisk you to faraway places and times, that will expand your mind and challenge you -- the kinds of books you just can't wait to tell your friends about.

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info & giveaways by email.